A division of the payments firm ACI Worldwide will pay $185,000 to California authorities to resolve allegations that it violated numerous state licensing requirements.
One of the violations involved ACI's acquisition of the division, Official Payments Corp., in 2013. California's money transmission law requires licensed firms to get the state's approval before acquisitions, but Official Payments did not make its request until nine days after the sale closed, according to state officials.
A stipulation of facts signed Tuesday by Official Payments says that the firm also failed to maintain adequate surety-bond coverage and the required level of tangible shareholders' equity, among other violations.
Several of the violations related to conduct that began before November 2013,
In the 11-page stipulation, Official Payments admitted to the violations and agreed not to repeat them. A spokesman for ACI Worldwide did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Jan Lynn Owen, commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight, said in a news release that the agreement helps to ensure that, in the future, Official Payments will comply with state law.
"This agreement provides the appropriate monetary penalty for substantial violations of our money-transmission law," she said.
Official Payments provides bill payment services to government agencies, utilities and other organizations. ACI, based in Naples, Fla., develops software for facilitating electronic payments.
